What Do You See?

What does this pile look like to you? Yarn. Nah, look closer... I see slippers, lot's of nice warm slippers. This is the bulk of a package that arrived today from KP. The crazy thing is that this is the fastest that I've ever gotten a package from them. If there was a time of year that I would expect a delay it would be now, at the busiest time of year for mail.
I've been reading a lot lately and I was waiting for a spare moment to share some quick reviews. This would be the time since I don't have much else.
Did I ever tell you about my reading list? I have a very small notebook in my bag (one of the many things that causes it to weigh a ton) and every time i read a review of a book that sounds promising I make a note of the title, author, source of the review and type of book. I've also entered lists of the books in series that I enjoy - in proper order - so that I know what the next one to read is. The three books I've read most recently all came from the notebook.
Two of these books are best described as chick lit which is not usually my thing but occasionally, if it's got an interesting plot, I'll pick some up for a lite read. Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon and The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center both fit this description. The former is the perfect illustration of that old saying "be careful what you wish for." Helen has been having an affair with a married man for 4 years and wishing she had him all to herself. Then one day he leaves his wife and shows up on her doorstep. She misses her old life almost immediately and, as she tries to put things right again she winds up befriending Matthew's ex. Naturally things get complicated. This was a fun read even though I found it really implausible. It's hard to imagine this scenario realistically in this Google age.
The second example of chick lit dealt with kind of the opposite issue. Jenny is engaged to Dean but she got pregnant before the wedding. Ooops! It's all ok and she continues wedding and baby prep until Dean goes out one night to clear his head and doesn't come back. This is very lite reading but the characters are fun and the story has a happy ending.
The last book I finished was the strongest of the bunch and it left me thinking hard and wanting to share it. Right as Rain is another great book by George Pelecanos. As with his others, it's set in DC and it's fun to try to figure out the real places that he uses as settings even though he changes the names. Purple Cactus is the (now closed) restaurant Red Sage and Sea DC is really DC Coast. The settings are the only part of DC that's recognizable for me because Pelecanos writes about the ugly side of things.
The story follows PI and former cop Derek Strange as he tries to find out what really happened the night one cop was killed by another. Terry Quinn, the officer who pulled the trigger, was cleared but he left the force anyway and now he wants to help Strange with the investigation. What makes this story intense is the relationships and the constant issue of race. The dead officer was black, the one who shot him is white and Strange is black. The book is similar to the movie Crash and shows that race matters. It even affects those who think they are color blind.
If you do read these (or have read them in the past) I'd love to hear what you thought.